In the past, various types of charging apparatus have been used in conjunction with machine guns to selectively move the machine gun's bolt pin between a forwardly disposed “armed” position in which the gun is ready to fire, and a rearwardly disposed “safe” position in which firing of the gun is prevented until the bolt pin is returned to its armed position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,499 to Sanderson et al, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, illustrates and describes an electrically driven machine gun charging system which is representatively utilized in conjunction with a 0.50 caliber machine gun and comprises an actuating member which is drivable between first and second positions. The actuating member, during driven movement toward its second position, engages the bolt pin of the machine gun and drives it rearwardly to its safe position, against the biasing force of its associated return spring when the actuating member reaches its second position.
Electric drive means are provided and are selectively operable to drive the actuating member in opposite directions between its first and second positions. Latch means operate to engage and releasably hold the bolt pin in its safe position in response to movement of the actuating member to its second position. The latch means are further operative to hold the bolt pin in its safe position during electrically driven return movement of the actuating member from its second position to its first position. Release means, operative in response to driven return movement of the actuating member to its first position, cause the latch means to be disengaged from the bolt pin to permit the bolt pin to be rapidly moved, by its return spring, forwardly from its safe position to its armed position.
While this previously utilized gun charging system has proven to be well suited for its intended purpose, it has several limitations and disadvantages. For example, to remove the charging system from the gun, and then replace it or mount a new charging system on the gun requires removal of and subsequent replacement of certain internal components of the gun, thereby complicating charging system service or replacement. Additionally, the return of the bolt pin from its safe position to its armed position (at which point the gun can be fired) is delayed until the actuation member is electrically driven from its rearwardly disposed second position clear back to its forwardly disposed first position. This undesirably delays firing of the gun when its bolt pin is in its safe position. Further, the charging system, which has numerous parts, is relatively complex, large and heavy.
It would be desirable to provide an improved machine gun charging system which eliminates or at least substantially minimizes these limitations and disadvantages associated with the above-described conventional gun charging system. It is to this goal that the present invention is primarily directed.